"Frustration Machine" Unveils Strange Subatomic Material and Quantum Phase
Scientists have discovered a new material called a bosonic correlated insulator, which is a whole new state of matter. The material is a lattice formed from a layer of tungsten diselenide and a layer of tungsten disulfide placed on top of each other but not fully aligned, creating a moiré pattern. The researchers used a light-based technique called pump-probe spectroscopy to create and probe the behaviors of the excitons in their system, leading to the discovery of the correlation that drove the bosons into a highly ordered state. The team thinks their approach could lead to the discovery of more bosonic materials further down the line, and an improved way for all scientists to study bosons in real scenarios rather than in synthetic systems.